PROMOTION
AUGUST bank holiday weekend saw thousands flock to Bolton to see what this year's Food and Drink Festival had to offer.
A whopping 130 stalls set up pitch, serving a mixture of savoury and sweet delights. Eats ranged from Chinese, Indian and African cuisines to Thai, French, Spanish and many more, all vying for our custom.
Bolton Council's main media market girl, Salma Nakhuda, told us that this year's markets attracted 153,227 food botherers from as far afield as Australia, the Bahamas and New Zealand, an increase of 18% on last year's footfall.
James Martin, Gino D'Acampo and John Torode all cooked up delights to tantalise and tempt us
Festival goers were spoilt by free live music, street performers and speciality pop-up bars selling all manner of drinks from cider to prosecco.
This year also welcomed the addition of the free family area over at Le Mans Crescent where CBeebies Katy Ashworth and The Octagon Theatre put on live performances of Peter Pan and Wendy, a touching ode to the late Robin Williams.
True to tradition the main marquee in Victoria Square held live cooking demos from celebrity chefs. James Martin, Gino D'Acampo and John Torode all cooked up delights to tantalise, tempt us and make us go "ohhh" and "ahhh".
Meanwhile, The Marketplace Shopping Centre and the Ashburner Street markets saw a bunch of local chefs putting on free cooking masterclasses. Aiden Byrne, Debbie Halls Evans, Corrie's Sean Wilson, and Ernst Van Zyl were all there. Plus our very own mental case Andrew Nutter, who delightfully posed for pictures with his sausages.
Confidential tucked into some pani puri over at The Hungry Gecko van where owner and MasterChef finalist Jackie Kearney was serving up fresh, Asian gourmet cuisine. We just need to convince her to come to Levy Market now so we can sample the rest of that delicious menu.
Bolton Food and Drink Festival is growing in strength every year with feedback from contributors and customers being nothing but positive. Confidential is looking forward to 2015's event and promises to keep Gordo at home with the nanny to ensure there's some food left for the rest of us.
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Bolton Food and Drink Festival is organised by Bolton Council and sponsored by Bluemantle, Market Place Shopping Centre, Stateside Foods and University of Bolton. Partners include Bolton Market, Crompton Place Shopping Centre, Greenhalgh’s, ISG, Kro Bar, Marriott, and The Octagon Theatre.
